The American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence
The Essays of George H. Smith
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence
Buy for $6.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
VoiceBunny
-
By:
-
George H Smith
About this listen
For almost a century after the U.S. Constitution went into effect, few Americans seem to have questioned the legitimacy of the Revolution. Since the Progressive generation of historians began the work of serious criticism and revision, however, students of American life have largely learned to live with a more complicated understanding of the revolutionary legacy. Smith's treatment of the era charts space for libertarians to both criticize and revere the American heritage.
©2017 Cato Institute (P)2017 Cato InstituteListeners also enjoyed...
-
Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism
- The Essays of George H. Smith
- By: George H. Smith
- Narrated by: VoiceBunny
- Length: 2 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
There is a well-worn image and phrase for libertarianism: "atomized individualism". This hobgoblin has spread so thoroughly that even some libertarians think their philosophy unreservedly supports private persons, whatever the situation, whatever their behavior. Smith's Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism, corrects this misrepresentation with careful intellectual surveys of Hume, Smith, Hobbes, Butler, Mandeville, and Hutcheson and their respective contributions to political philosophy.
By: George H. Smith
-
Black Reconstruction in America
- By: W. E. B. Du Bois, David Levering Lewis
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 37 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 358
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 300
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 297
This pioneering work was the first full-length study of the role black Americans played in the crucial period after the Civil War, when the slaves had been freed and the attempt was made to reconstruct American society. Hailed at the time, Black Reconstruction in America has justly been called a classic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The textbook you should have had in high school.
- By Saleh on 05-06-18
By: W. E. B. Du Bois, and others
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,297
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,099
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,094
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
The Gettysburg Address
- By: Abraham Lincoln
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 35
The Gettysburg Address, delivered by Lincoln on November 19, 1863, in the aftermath of a narrow, bloody Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, is considered one of the greatest speeches in American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
American history devotional
- By RJ on 11-29-18
By: Abraham Lincoln
-
Common Sense
- By: Thomas Paine
- Narrated by: Adrian Cronauer
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 109
This pamphlet, first published in 1776, set in print the word every American was thinking about, but none dared say: independence! It was published anonymously in New York, selling 120,000 copies in the first 3 months and half a million in that same year. Its author, Thomas Paine, wrote in a language that could be understood by any reasonably literate colonist. But more important than it being so well received, is that it captured the American colonists' imaginations and was a primary catalyst to the independence movement in the United States. Noted American historian Bernard Bailyn called it "the most brilliant pamphlet written during the American Revolution, and one of the most brilliant ever written in the English language."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
revolutionary ideas for sure
- By reggie p on 08-20-03
By: Thomas Paine
-
The Anarchist Handbook
- By: Michael Malice
- Narrated by: Michael Malice
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 445
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 436
Anarchism has been both a vision of a peaceful, cooperative society — and an ideology of revolutionary terror. Since the term itself — anarchism — is a negation, there is a great deal of disagreement on what the positive alternative would look like. The black flag comes in many colors.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An absolute gem
- By Tim on 12-16-21
By: Michael Malice
-
Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism
- The Essays of George H. Smith
- By: George H. Smith
- Narrated by: VoiceBunny
- Length: 2 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
There is a well-worn image and phrase for libertarianism: "atomized individualism". This hobgoblin has spread so thoroughly that even some libertarians think their philosophy unreservedly supports private persons, whatever the situation, whatever their behavior. Smith's Self-Interest and Social Order in Classical Liberalism, corrects this misrepresentation with careful intellectual surveys of Hume, Smith, Hobbes, Butler, Mandeville, and Hutcheson and their respective contributions to political philosophy.
By: George H. Smith
-
Black Reconstruction in America
- By: W. E. B. Du Bois, David Levering Lewis
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 37 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 358
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 300
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 297
This pioneering work was the first full-length study of the role black Americans played in the crucial period after the Civil War, when the slaves had been freed and the attempt was made to reconstruct American society. Hailed at the time, Black Reconstruction in America has justly been called a classic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The textbook you should have had in high school.
- By Saleh on 05-06-18
By: W. E. B. Du Bois, and others
-
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,297
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,099
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,094
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
-
The Gettysburg Address
- By: Abraham Lincoln
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 35
The Gettysburg Address, delivered by Lincoln on November 19, 1863, in the aftermath of a narrow, bloody Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, is considered one of the greatest speeches in American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
American history devotional
- By RJ on 11-29-18
By: Abraham Lincoln
-
Common Sense
- By: Thomas Paine
- Narrated by: Adrian Cronauer
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 109
This pamphlet, first published in 1776, set in print the word every American was thinking about, but none dared say: independence! It was published anonymously in New York, selling 120,000 copies in the first 3 months and half a million in that same year. Its author, Thomas Paine, wrote in a language that could be understood by any reasonably literate colonist. But more important than it being so well received, is that it captured the American colonists' imaginations and was a primary catalyst to the independence movement in the United States. Noted American historian Bernard Bailyn called it "the most brilliant pamphlet written during the American Revolution, and one of the most brilliant ever written in the English language."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
revolutionary ideas for sure
- By reggie p on 08-20-03
By: Thomas Paine
-
The Anarchist Handbook
- By: Michael Malice
- Narrated by: Michael Malice
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 445
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 436
Anarchism has been both a vision of a peaceful, cooperative society — and an ideology of revolutionary terror. Since the term itself — anarchism — is a negation, there is a great deal of disagreement on what the positive alternative would look like. The black flag comes in many colors.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An absolute gem
- By Tim on 12-16-21
By: Michael Malice
-
The Know Your Bill of Rights Book
- Don't Lose Your Constitutional Rights - Learn Them!
- By: Sean Patrick
- Narrated by: Jeff Justus
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 333
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 283
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 278
Do you really want the crooked baby-kissers and fake news to tell you what your rights are? Wouldn’t you rather discover them for yourself? The founders fought tirelessly to guarantee these God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But let’s face it - the Bill of Rights is hard to understand. Its text is flowery and puzzling. It’s full of legal and political jargon.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Better than the lessons taught in school!
- By Tony Brenda on 01-27-17
By: Sean Patrick
-
Our Lost Declaration
- America's Fight Against Tyranny from King George to the Deep State
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 116
New York Times best-selling author and committed constitutional conservative Senator Mike Lee reveals the little-known stories behind the founders' takedown of a tyrannical king and the forgotten document that created America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great listen.
- By chas on 07-14-19
By: Mike Lee
-
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
- By: Bernard Bailyn
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
To the original text of what has become a classic of American historical literature, Bernard Bailyn adds a substantial essay, "Fulfillment", as a postscript. Here he discusses the intense nationwide debate on the ratification of the Constitution, stressing the continuities between that struggle over the foundations of the national government and the original principles of the Revolution.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bernard Bailyn is a genius!
- By John M. Crean on 04-21-19
By: Bernard Bailyn
-
Liberty's First Crisis
- Adams, Jefferson, and the Misfits Who Saved Free Speech
- By: Charles Slack
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 31
When the United States government passed the Bill of Rights in 1791, its uncompromising protection of speech and of the press were unlike anything the world had ever seen before. But by 1798, the once-dazzling young republic of the United States was on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, the First Amendment, which protected harsh commentary of the weak government, no longer seemed as practical. So that July, President John Adams and the Federalists in control of Congress passed an extreme piece of legislation that made criticism of the government and its leaders a crime.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Marvelous Book....
- By Douglas on 01-07-17
By: Charles Slack
-
Nullification
- How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century
- By: Thomas E. Woods Jr.
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
Citizens across the country are fed up with the politicians in Washington telling us how to live our lives and then sticking us with the bill. But what can we do? Actually, we can just say no. As New York Times best-selling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr., explains, "nullification" allows states to reject unconstitutional federal laws.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Explains Why, but not How To
- By Dale Hurtt on 08-28-10
-
How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America
- By: Brion McClanahan
- Narrated by: Thomas Rosenfeld
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 56
He is the star of a hit Broadway musical, the face on the 10-dollar bill, and a central figure among the founding fathers. But do you really know Alexander Hamilton? Rather than lionize Hamilton, Americans should carefully consider his most significant and ultimately detrimental contribution to modern society: the shredding of the United States Constitution. Connecting the dots between Hamilton's invention of implied powers in 1791 to transgender bathrooms and same-sex marriage today, Brion McClanahan shows the origins of our modern federal leviathan.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank You Audible
- By No to Statism on 10-03-18
By: Brion McClanahan
-
Written Out of History
- The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 409
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 366
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 365
In the earliest days of our nation, a handful of unsung heroes - including women, slaves, and an Iroquois chief - made crucial contributions to our republic. They pioneered the ideas that led to the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, and the abolition of slavery. Yet their faces haven't been printed on our currency or carved into any cliffs. Instead they were marginalized, silenced, or forgotten - sometimes by an accident of history, sometimes by design.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting American History- not the usual stuff
- By Marie on 06-19-17
By: Mike Lee
-
The Three Lives of James Madison
- Genius, Partisan, President
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 34 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 529
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 471
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 469
Over the course of his life, James Madison changed the United States three times: First, he designed the Constitution, led the struggle for its adoption and ratification, then drafted the Bill of Rights. As an older, cannier politician, he cofounded the original Republican party, setting the course of American political partisanship. Finally, having pioneered a foreign policy based on economic sanctions, he took the United States into a high-risk conflict, becoming the first wartime president and, despite the odds, winning.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Cogently organized, meticulously balanced
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 06-15-18
By: Noah Feldman
-
John Marshall
- The Man Who Made the Supreme Court
- By: Richard Brookhiser
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 137
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
The life of John Marshall, founding father and America's premier chief justice. In 1801, a genial and brilliant Revolutionary War veteran and politician became the fourth chief justice of the US. He would hold the post for 34 years (still a record), expounding the Constitution he loved. Before he joined the Court, it was the weakling of the federal government, lacking in dignity and clout. After he died, it could never be ignored again.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Biography
- By Jean on 12-14-18
-
Thomas Paine
- Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
John Adams told Thomas Jefferson that “history is to ascribe the American Revolution to Thomas Paine.” Thomas Edison called him “the equal of Washington in making American liberty possible.” He was a founder of both the United States and the French Revolution. He invented the phrase, “The United States of America.” He rose from abject poverty in working-class England to the highest levels of the era’s intellectual elite. And yet, by the end of his life, Thomas Paine was almost universally reviled.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This man should be a household name!
- By Darlene Davis on 11-21-11
By: Craig Nelson
-
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
- By: Gordon S. Wood
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 24 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
This classic work explains the evolution of American political thought from the Declaration of Independence to the ratification of the Constitution. In so doing, it greatly illuminates the origins of the present American political system.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
This Audible book is NOT for a popular audience!
- By BigWally on 11-22-18
By: Gordon S. Wood
-
The Second Amendment Primer
- A Citizen's Guidebook to the History, Sources, and Authorities for the Constitutional Guarantee of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
- By: Les Adams
- Narrated by: Kevin Henderson
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 205
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 178
So much of the debate about the Second Amendment is in scholarly journals and academic papers written by scholars and judges, or directed towards other scholars, law professors, attorneys, and judges. Trying to wade through the extensive footnotes and references to legal cases and historical precedents known only to the academic elite is more than enough to make anyone feel hopeless.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutley fantastic
- By Brandon Pruitt on 08-05-15
By: Les Adams
Related to this topic
-
Our Lost Declaration
- America's Fight Against Tyranny from King George to the Deep State
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 116
New York Times best-selling author and committed constitutional conservative Senator Mike Lee reveals the little-known stories behind the founders' takedown of a tyrannical king and the forgotten document that created America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great listen.
- By chas on 07-14-19
By: Mike Lee
-
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
- By: Bernard Bailyn
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
To the original text of what has become a classic of American historical literature, Bernard Bailyn adds a substantial essay, "Fulfillment", as a postscript. Here he discusses the intense nationwide debate on the ratification of the Constitution, stressing the continuities between that struggle over the foundations of the national government and the original principles of the Revolution.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bernard Bailyn is a genius!
- By John M. Crean on 04-21-19
By: Bernard Bailyn
-
Liberty's First Crisis
- Adams, Jefferson, and the Misfits Who Saved Free Speech
- By: Charles Slack
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 31
When the United States government passed the Bill of Rights in 1791, its uncompromising protection of speech and of the press were unlike anything the world had ever seen before. But by 1798, the once-dazzling young republic of the United States was on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, the First Amendment, which protected harsh commentary of the weak government, no longer seemed as practical. So that July, President John Adams and the Federalists in control of Congress passed an extreme piece of legislation that made criticism of the government and its leaders a crime.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Marvelous Book....
- By Douglas on 01-07-17
By: Charles Slack
-
Common Sense
- By: Thomas Paine
- Narrated by: Adrian Cronauer
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 109
This pamphlet, first published in 1776, set in print the word every American was thinking about, but none dared say: independence! It was published anonymously in New York, selling 120,000 copies in the first 3 months and half a million in that same year. Its author, Thomas Paine, wrote in a language that could be understood by any reasonably literate colonist. But more important than it being so well received, is that it captured the American colonists' imaginations and was a primary catalyst to the independence movement in the United States. Noted American historian Bernard Bailyn called it "the most brilliant pamphlet written during the American Revolution, and one of the most brilliant ever written in the English language."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
revolutionary ideas for sure
- By reggie p on 08-20-03
By: Thomas Paine
-
James Madison and the Making of America
- By: Kevin R. C. Gutzman
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 145
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 130
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 127
In James Madison and the Making of America, historian Kevin Gutzman looks beyond the way James Madison is traditionally seen - as "The Father of the Constitution” - to find a more complex and sometimes contradictory portrait of this influential Founding Father and the ways in which he influenced the spirit of today's United States.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not a traditional biography
- By David on 12-14-12
-
How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America
- By: Brion McClanahan
- Narrated by: Thomas Rosenfeld
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 56
He is the star of a hit Broadway musical, the face on the 10-dollar bill, and a central figure among the founding fathers. But do you really know Alexander Hamilton? Rather than lionize Hamilton, Americans should carefully consider his most significant and ultimately detrimental contribution to modern society: the shredding of the United States Constitution. Connecting the dots between Hamilton's invention of implied powers in 1791 to transgender bathrooms and same-sex marriage today, Brion McClanahan shows the origins of our modern federal leviathan.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank You Audible
- By No to Statism on 10-03-18
By: Brion McClanahan
-
Our Lost Declaration
- America's Fight Against Tyranny from King George to the Deep State
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 116
New York Times best-selling author and committed constitutional conservative Senator Mike Lee reveals the little-known stories behind the founders' takedown of a tyrannical king and the forgotten document that created America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great listen.
- By chas on 07-14-19
By: Mike Lee
-
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
- By: Bernard Bailyn
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
To the original text of what has become a classic of American historical literature, Bernard Bailyn adds a substantial essay, "Fulfillment", as a postscript. Here he discusses the intense nationwide debate on the ratification of the Constitution, stressing the continuities between that struggle over the foundations of the national government and the original principles of the Revolution.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bernard Bailyn is a genius!
- By John M. Crean on 04-21-19
By: Bernard Bailyn
-
Liberty's First Crisis
- Adams, Jefferson, and the Misfits Who Saved Free Speech
- By: Charles Slack
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 31
When the United States government passed the Bill of Rights in 1791, its uncompromising protection of speech and of the press were unlike anything the world had ever seen before. But by 1798, the once-dazzling young republic of the United States was on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, the First Amendment, which protected harsh commentary of the weak government, no longer seemed as practical. So that July, President John Adams and the Federalists in control of Congress passed an extreme piece of legislation that made criticism of the government and its leaders a crime.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Marvelous Book....
- By Douglas on 01-07-17
By: Charles Slack
-
Common Sense
- By: Thomas Paine
- Narrated by: Adrian Cronauer
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 109
This pamphlet, first published in 1776, set in print the word every American was thinking about, but none dared say: independence! It was published anonymously in New York, selling 120,000 copies in the first 3 months and half a million in that same year. Its author, Thomas Paine, wrote in a language that could be understood by any reasonably literate colonist. But more important than it being so well received, is that it captured the American colonists' imaginations and was a primary catalyst to the independence movement in the United States. Noted American historian Bernard Bailyn called it "the most brilliant pamphlet written during the American Revolution, and one of the most brilliant ever written in the English language."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
revolutionary ideas for sure
- By reggie p on 08-20-03
By: Thomas Paine
-
James Madison and the Making of America
- By: Kevin R. C. Gutzman
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 145
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 130
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 127
In James Madison and the Making of America, historian Kevin Gutzman looks beyond the way James Madison is traditionally seen - as "The Father of the Constitution” - to find a more complex and sometimes contradictory portrait of this influential Founding Father and the ways in which he influenced the spirit of today's United States.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not a traditional biography
- By David on 12-14-12
-
How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America
- By: Brion McClanahan
- Narrated by: Thomas Rosenfeld
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 56
He is the star of a hit Broadway musical, the face on the 10-dollar bill, and a central figure among the founding fathers. But do you really know Alexander Hamilton? Rather than lionize Hamilton, Americans should carefully consider his most significant and ultimately detrimental contribution to modern society: the shredding of the United States Constitution. Connecting the dots between Hamilton's invention of implied powers in 1791 to transgender bathrooms and same-sex marriage today, Brion McClanahan shows the origins of our modern federal leviathan.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thank You Audible
- By No to Statism on 10-03-18
By: Brion McClanahan
-
Written Out of History
- The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 409
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 366
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 365
In the earliest days of our nation, a handful of unsung heroes - including women, slaves, and an Iroquois chief - made crucial contributions to our republic. They pioneered the ideas that led to the Bill of Rights, the separation of powers, and the abolition of slavery. Yet their faces haven't been printed on our currency or carved into any cliffs. Instead they were marginalized, silenced, or forgotten - sometimes by an accident of history, sometimes by design.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting American History- not the usual stuff
- By Marie on 06-19-17
By: Mike Lee
-
The Three Lives of James Madison
- Genius, Partisan, President
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 34 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 529
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 471
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 469
Over the course of his life, James Madison changed the United States three times: First, he designed the Constitution, led the struggle for its adoption and ratification, then drafted the Bill of Rights. As an older, cannier politician, he cofounded the original Republican party, setting the course of American political partisanship. Finally, having pioneered a foreign policy based on economic sanctions, he took the United States into a high-risk conflict, becoming the first wartime president and, despite the odds, winning.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Cogently organized, meticulously balanced
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 06-15-18
By: Noah Feldman
-
John Marshall
- The Man Who Made the Supreme Court
- By: Richard Brookhiser
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 137
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
The life of John Marshall, founding father and America's premier chief justice. In 1801, a genial and brilliant Revolutionary War veteran and politician became the fourth chief justice of the US. He would hold the post for 34 years (still a record), expounding the Constitution he loved. Before he joined the Court, it was the weakling of the federal government, lacking in dignity and clout. After he died, it could never be ignored again.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Biography
- By Jean on 12-14-18
-
Thomas Paine
- Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
- By: Craig Nelson
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
John Adams told Thomas Jefferson that “history is to ascribe the American Revolution to Thomas Paine.” Thomas Edison called him “the equal of Washington in making American liberty possible.” He was a founder of both the United States and the French Revolution. He invented the phrase, “The United States of America.” He rose from abject poverty in working-class England to the highest levels of the era’s intellectual elite. And yet, by the end of his life, Thomas Paine was almost universally reviled.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This man should be a household name!
- By Darlene Davis on 11-21-11
By: Craig Nelson
-
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
- By: Gordon S. Wood
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 24 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
This classic work explains the evolution of American political thought from the Declaration of Independence to the ratification of the Constitution. In so doing, it greatly illuminates the origins of the present American political system.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
This Audible book is NOT for a popular audience!
- By BigWally on 11-22-18
By: Gordon S. Wood
-
The War Before the War
- Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War
- By: Andrew Delbanco
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 177
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 177
For decades after its founding, America was really two nations—one slave, one free. There were many reasons why this composite nation ultimately broke apart, but the fact that enslaved black people repeatedly risked their lives to flee their masters in the South in search of freedom in the North proved that the "united" states was actually a lie. Fugitive slaves exposed the contradiction between the myth that slavery was a benign institution and the reality that a nation based on the principle of human equality was in fact a prison-house in which millions of Americans had no rights.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Great promise greater disappointment
- By Amazon Customer on 12-09-18
By: Andrew Delbanco
-
Desperate Sons
- Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, and the Secret Bands of Radicals Who Led the Colonies to War
- By: Les Standiford
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 61
More than 200 years ago, a group of British colonists in America decided that the conditions under which they were governed had become intolerable. Angry and frustrated that King George III and the British Parliament had ignored their lawful complaints and petitions, they decided to take action. Knowing that their deeds - often directed at individuals and property - were illegal, and punishable by imprisonment and even death, these agitators plotted and conducted their missions in secret to protect their identities as well as the identities of those who supported them.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Sons of Liberty
- By Jean on 02-21-13
By: Les Standiford
-
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers
- By: Brion McClanahan Ph. D.
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 388
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 304
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 303
Here to rescue the reputations of our Founding Fathers from the plague of modern political correctness is The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers. Author and Professor Brion McClanahan shows how patriots like Franklin, Madison, and Hamilton laid the foundations of American civil liberty and had a better understanding of the problems facing us today than our current Congress.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Highly Recommended
- By Colleen H. on 08-13-09
-
The Founders' Key
- The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It
- By: Dr. Larry Arnn
- Narrated by: Van Tracy
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 22
Dr. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, reveals this integral unity of the Declaration and the Constitution. Together, they form the pillars upon which the liberties and rights of the American people stand. United, they have guided history's first self-governing nation, forming our government under certain universal and eternal principles. Unfortunately, the effort to redefine government to reflect "the changing and growing social order" has gone very far toward success.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Linking Declaration and Constitution.
- By Ed Bethune on 04-26-24
By: Dr. Larry Arnn
-
Thomas Jefferson
- By: R. B. Bernstein
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
Thomas Jefferson designed his own tombstone, describing himself simply as "Author of the Declaration of Independence and of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia". It is in this simple epitaph that R. B. Bernstein finds the key to this enigmatic Founder - not as a great political figure, but as leader of "a revolution of ideas that would make the world over again". In Thomas Jefferson, Bernstein offers the definitive short biography of this revered American - the first concise life in six decades. Bernstein deftly synthesizes the massive scholarship on his subject into a swift, insightful, evenhanded account.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
In-Depth and Interesting
- By Sarahi Nieves on 04-24-19
By: R. B. Bernstein
-
Friends Divided
- John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
- By: Gordon S. Wood
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 447
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 399
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 397
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams could scarcely have come from more different worlds or been more different in temperament. Jefferson, the optimist with enough faith in the innate goodness of his fellow man to be democracy's champion, was an aristocratic Southern slave owner while Adams, the overachiever from New England's rising middling classes, painfully aware he was no aristocrat, was a skeptic about popular rule and a defender of a more elitist view of government.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Great Read
- By Jean on 12-22-17
By: Gordon S. Wood
-
Samuel Adams
- A Life
- By: Ira Stoll
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 205
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
Ira Stoll's fascinating biography not only restores this figure to his rightful place in history but portrays him as a man of God whose skepticism of a powerful central government, uncompromising support for freedom of the press, concern about the influence of money on elections, voluble love of liberty, and selfless endurance in a war for freedom has enormous relevance to Americans today.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not just a biography. Must-read American History!
- By scott bowlby on 01-15-11
By: Ira Stoll